The View Through the Looking Glass
by Killing Aurora
Summary: [aurikku] Auron looks back from the Farplane, only to find that to save her, he must look ahead.
1. Beginning with an Ending

**The View Through the Looking Glass**

Obviously, this will be an Aurikku, so if you don't like, don't read! Simple as that. Enjoy!

Chapter 1 – Beginning With An Ending

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Yuna lifted Nirvana, and began the Sending. The huge mass that was Sin began to dissipate into pyreflies. Auron watched as gracefully she danced, eyes still bright with tears for Tidus. It was different this time. He felt the pull of the Farplane, heard the song of the Fayth, but this time there was no resistance. It didn't hurt anymore. The Sending was his own.

All promises had been fulfilled, there was nothing left to hold him back. _Except_ . . . he thought wistfully, turning to Rikku. She had her back turned to him, and her shoulders shook slightly.

"Rikku - -" No response. Smiling inwardly, Auron tilted her head towards him. As he predicted, her eyes were tightly shut. "Look at me." One swirling forest-green eye peeked open, and the other soon followed with a giggle.

"Please, don't go yet." Auron reached out a hand in silent apology, wincing as the first pyrefly broke off and rose from his arm.

Rikku gasped audibly, and Yuna turned, only now realizing what she was doing to the legendary guardian.

"Sir Auron?!" She queried, shock breaking through her calm facade.

"Continue," Auron said gruffly. "It's been long enough." Yuna smiled sadly and continued the dance.

A clump of seven or eight pyreflies formed and rose from his shoulder, causing Auron to shudder inwardly. This sure didn't feel like the peaceful repose he had always imagined – it felt like exactly what it was, a clump of flesh falling off and flying away.

The pyreflies were rising faster now. He acknowledged each of the summoner's entourage in turn, wishing them goodbye. First Wakka, whom he smiled and waved at. Wakka grinned and saluted, jumping to attention.

Next, Auron turned to Lulu, who met his gaze with her usual reserved stare, and the ghost of a grin flitted across her face. The black mage lowered her eyes, and Auron turned his attention to Yuna.

Bowing low, Auron thanked her with his eyes. She dipped her knees in a slight curtsey, while continuing to dance. A sad smile played across her face.

Turning to her right, Auron contemplated the space where, moments ago, Tidus had stood. The young blitzer had looked up to him as a father figure since even before Jecht disappeared.

But only moments ago, the Fayth had reclaimed their dream, and Auron had missed his chance to give Tidus a proper farewell. So he looked instead to Kimahri Ronso.

Silently, he acknowledged his longtime friend.

Kimahri had been with him at the moment of his death, and had carried out his last request. He had kept Auron's secret all this time, and had proved a steadfast and reliable companion. Auron communicated his gratitude with a solemn nod, and Kimahri returned the gesture. There was only one person left.

Hesitantly, he turned to Rikku. Eyes dry, she had managed to salvage a grin somewhat resembling her usual expression from the turmoil of her mind, and, to Auron's great relief, her countenance did not show her grief. He had been afraid she might not understand.

"Goodbye, Rikku." He said, sounding graver than he had meant to – he didn't want to upset her, not now. She clasped her hands behind her back, and cocked her head to the side.

"I guess this is goodbye, then. We'll really miss you, ya know?" She smiled.

Auron 'hmphed', making to turn away. She caught his arm from behind. Frowning, Auron turned.

"Auron?" Rikku queried. Lowering her voice to a whisper, she continued. "Wait for me there." Nodding, Auron turned and strode to the middle of the platform, swinging his huge sword over his shoulder.

"This is your story now." And with that, his now hazy form exploded into pyreflies and winged away, leaving a distraught Rikku behind him.

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And that's it! This might be a oneshot, I dunno, but I doubt it, seeing as I have a tentative second part in the making. Actually, I'm lying, it's already done! So please review, and I just might actually post it! Thanks! . 


	2. The Farplane Registration

**Chapter Two – The Farplane Registration**

Yay, feedback! Thanks heaps BloodyDemonEmpress and shadows-of-flame. It won't be short, trust me.

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Auron opened his eyes, and for the first time looked around at his surroundings. All he got was a glimpse, though, before the pyreflies finished reassembling and he fell. 

_This feels so strange . . . _Auron was falling, but there was nothing below for him to land on. _Oh fantastic. Doomed to an eternity of freefall. Hmph, some welcome! _It was like on a sled ride going down a steep hill, when your stomach jumps into your mouth and refuses to budge.

Suddenly, he stopped falling. He didn't land, he just . . . stopped. Auron carefully pulled himself to the feet, noting the pain his impact had caused. _So does that make this place real? _Below him, a swirling abyss of colours and pyreflies danced, but he didn't fall into them. It seemed Auron was standing on either glass, or . . . the void.

Looking down, an eternal spiral of colourful oblivion waited. Not exactly a comforting thought. Picking a random direction, Auron began to walk. No sooner than he had taken two steps, a small town veered into view. Uncertainly, Auron slung Masamune across his shoulders and headed towards it.

Almost before he knew it, Auron was in its midst. _If I can just get inside one of these buildings, maybe I can ask for directions. Or find them myself._ Confidently, Auron strode over to the nearest building. He leaned against a wall to gather his thoughts. And fell through. _WHAT THE -?! _The building that had appeared so solid, had disappeared.

Auron picked himself of the ground and stepped back, unsure whether to be confused or furious. Sure enough, the moment he was out of the area in which it stood, the hut materialized once more.

Slowly, he walked over to an inn, and cautiously tapped on its door. The whole place vanished. Teeth clenched, Auron strode towards the next building. It too disappeared. And the next. And the next. And the one after that.

Finally, Auron snapped. "GAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!" He roared in frustration, running around in miscalculated circles, striking at anything and everything with his katana. Until – SMACK. He'd run into a wall. _Darndest things, walls – you never know when one's going to sneak up on you. _

Realising how mad he was beginning to sound, Auron began to laugh – a low, desperate laugh. The laugh of a man who doesn't know which way is up, and knows it. The place was beginning to get to him. His rational mind was fast fading, and he wondered whether perhaps he would remain here forever.

Sitting down against that damned annoying wall, the culprit of the raised lump growing on his temple, Auron took out his sake jug with a groan. _Is THIS the Farplane? My eternal rest? I left Spira for THIS?! _Taking a long swig, Auron sat back and waited for his calm to return.

Gratefully, he leaned against the wall, seemingly the only material object in this Yevon-forsaken place. _It's like a dreamscape,_ he mused. Looking up, Auron noticed for the first time a sign hanging from the doorhandle.

'Farplane Registration – please wait inside'. Cursing himself for not having the presence of mind to take this in EARLIER, Auron reluctantly stood and pushed open the door.

Inside was a sterile-looking waiting room, complete with overly-cheerful attendants, clad in a uniform clerical attire. The walls were painted a harsh white, the floors were black-and-white checkered, and the room was void of any decoration save a ratty vase of dried flowers on the reception desk's counter. A battered and worn couch, the colour of old blood, sat across from the reception desk, with a coffee table piled with ancient magazines an arm's length away.

One of the smiling clerks bustled over too him and grabbed his hand, shaking it. "Welcome to the Farlane registration! My name is Polly, and you, of course must be Sir Auron!" Auron raised his eyebrows at the woman's annoying bedside manner, and looked her over in a disconcerting fashion.

Polly was a plump, middle-aged, motherly looking woman, who wore her graying hair short and immaculately curled. Her uniform was spotlessly clean, her skin smooth and free of wrinkles, and she was far too forward. Auron detested her for it.

"I wish, on behalf of us all, to express our sincerest regrets of your passing away." _If you were really sincere, you'd stop smiling. _

Unaware of Auron's irritated disapproval, the woman continued. "I am, however, sure you will enjoy your stay here. Unfortunately you will be unable to enter the inner Farplane until the details of your life and passing have been confirmed and entered into our database. In your case, Sir Auron, this may take us a few weeks. I apologize for any inconvenience causd. Do make yourself at home!" She concluded, shooing the bemused guardian through a doorway.

Poking her head out the doorway, she added, "Feel free to explore – but, don't wander too far!" Waggling her finger sternly, she shut the door, leaving Auron to his thoughts.

He seemed to be in a forest of a kind. The foliage was thick and lush, and dewdrops condensed on the tips of the leaves. It was not so dense as not to allow easy passage through, though, and so disregarding the receptionist's last warning, he began to wander through the grove.

Deeply absorbed in his own reflections, Auron hardly took note of his environment, pausing only to vaguely wonder where the dirty light that filtered through the canopy came from, because there had certainly been no visible sun. The path was pleasant, and luminous mushrooms grew on the edges.

The trees seemed not to be bound by their roots, for it seemed sometimes that they moved, and wandered about in the same lost manner as himself. It was hard to look at the leaves for a stretch at a time – they seemed to be constantly moving, blown by some unfelt wind. There were no fiends here. It felt strange.

It seemed, that in the Farplane one needed no nourishment, as Auron continued to wander in this absent fashion for a few days without ever feeling the need for food or drink, when by all rights he should have been famished. When he finally neared the end of the grove, the shrubbery began to thin out, until at last he was left in a grassy clearing.

It seemed to be empty, save a still pool in the center. Auron was forced to admire the view, because after the clearing was a steep cliff, under which lay a sparkling, turbulent ocean, and some jagged rocks. It was breathtaking. Auron examined his reflection in the pool – his scar remained, but he could see out of both eyes. Strange.

Lowering his head, he peered closer, and the reflection vanished. The waters had turned opaque and milky, and not even his surroundings were reflected in its surface.

A ripple passed through the pool, and a new image formed.

A slender young woman, with elbow length hair stood with her back to him, silhouetted against a traditional Besaid-style hut. The angle changed, and he was not surprised to see that it was Rikku the pool had revealed to him. She was older now, and wiser; her sunny face lacked her trademark smile. She was jogging a chubby dark-haired infant on her waist, and waving to a pair of retreating figures.

"Don't worry, Lu, I'll take good care of Bella!"

She had grown – perhaps he had wandered for longer than he had thought? Without warning, the ground beneath his feet lurched, and he was falling into the pool!

For a moment, Auron had the uncomfortable sensation of being swallowed by a water flan, but soon the feeling passed, and he was watching the pilgrimage anew, fallen back into what had been.

* * *

That's it for now! Yes, I know their first baby was a boy, and called Vidina, or 'future', but I think they'd have a girl first, who looks just like Lulu, is chubby, has freckles and is named Isabella! It just fits. And also, I think their first son should be named Chappu, don't you? 

Ciao!


	3. The Shoopuf Crossing

**Chapter 3 – The Shoopuf Crossing**

I'm back! Thanks for reviewing!

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The crystalline surface of the Moonflow was unbroken, save the occasional ripple of a pyrefly too slow to pull itself out of a dive. The soft sunlight reflected off the water to illuminate the overhanging trees. Pyreflies flickered and danced ceaselessly, forming tiny spiraling whirlwinds. All was at peace along the Shoopuf Crossing. Well, above the surface anyway.

In the murky depths of the water lurked the Extractor, only meters away from the ancient machina city. Inside two young Al Bhed, brother and sister, both clad in the same bulky rubber wetsuits, sat in the cockpit back to back. Sulking.

The elder of the two, maybe 19, was sweating like crazy in the heat of an engine. Blonde hair fell messily into his line of sight, and Brother scowled. Shoving it back, he narrowed his eyes into a deathglare. Oh, this was a good one, the mother of all deathglares. Trying not to smirk lest he ruin the effect, Brother turned to the girl. To his great annoyance, the deathglare – his greatest yet – was wasted, as Rikku's back was still turned. Great. She was ignoring him.

So far beneath the water, every outside sound was muffled, even the hushed drone of the engine. The silence was building. Trying vainly to disperse the quiet that engulfed them, after maybe 5 minutes of trying-to-turn-Rikku-to-stone-time, Brother began to hum.

It was, of course, to no avail, and the silence increased to a point where it caused almost unbearable pressure on the eardrums. Deciding that such a degree of hush couldn't be good for his hearing, Brother spoke.

"Rikku." The echoes reverberated off the walls, accenting the pervading silence. He began. No response. Great. She intended to ignore him. Once more, the dreaded quiet began once more to creep up on him. "RIKKU!" He exploded, the sound of his voice causing it to retreat hastily. "Talk to me, dammit." Stubbornly, his sister shook her head.

"Why not, then?" Turning exasperatedly, Rikku gave him a Look. Brother couldn't help but give her the satisfaction of making him blanch. "Because YOU are bossing me around on MY mission! I am the pilot here! You are second in command." She retorted. Hastily apologizing, Brother assured her that she could be in charge now, if only to dissuade her from giving him the silent treatment.

Rikku smiled triumphantly _- Damn I'm good! - _and promptly began to bark out orders. "Co-pilot, patch through co-ordinates, check for signs of the summoner's entourage, and go jump in a lake!" Giggling, Rikku spun in her swivel-chair, disregarding the look Brother gave her.

Rikku was 15 years of age, had feathery blonde hair that fell past her shoulders, the swirled jade eyes of a true desert-bred Al Bhed, and a shriek that could curdle milk.

Today was to be her first rescue mission, and for someone so young, this said a lot about her abilities. Before this, she'd only been allowed to accompany the rest of the team on boring machina salvage missions. Brother was only here to evaluate her performance.

Cid, her father and the leader of the Al Bhed, had entrusted her with the privilege of rescuing the summoner Yuna, her cousin.

Brother left to check the missile supply, and Rikku was left to await the summoner's shoopuf. Checking her watch, Rikku glanced up at the still waters. Still no sign of Yunie's shoopuf, but then again, she wasn't expecting it for another 10 minutes. Swirling her waterglass around like her father did with spiced wine, Rikku took a sip and set the glass down. Absentmindedly, she began to hum snatches of a tune caught in her mind. Sitting back in her chair, Rikku waited.

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Sorry it took so long – I got sick when school started up. I seriously think I'm allergic. So, please review, and I should hopefully update soon! 


	4. Leisure and Lecturing

Sorry if I've been a while – School, ya know? Thanks for the reviews – this is doing really well, seeing as it's my first fanfic! So – on with the story!

Chapter 4 – Leisure and Lecturing

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Aboard the shoopuf, everybody was relaxed and enjoying the ride. Lulu sat back in her seat, watching the river go by. It was so pretty and peaceful, watching the pyreflies flit about – unless you started thinking how many of those disembodied souls were going to turn into fiends, and whether any that would become fiends would then reduce YOU to pyreflies.

Kimahri was painfully reminiscing over Yuna's last shoopuf ride – she'd fallen off. The shoopuf scooped her up with its long nose. Yuna had clapped delightedly and jumped right back into the water. "Kimahri worried!" Groaned the big blue beast laconically.

Sir Auron was lost in thought towards the back, his face obscured by his heavy cowl. Low-riding glasses cast a shadow over what remained exposed of his face. Yuna was watching Wakka and Tidus with a small smile that threatened to become a laugh. The two were conversing animatedly about the wondrous city below.

"A sunken city!" Tidus exclaimed, the enchanting scenery forgotten. Wakka smiled smugly and began to lecture Tidus on the sunken ruin's origins. "A machina city – a thousand years old! They built the city on top of bridges across the river."

Lulu continued the story, to Wakka's great annoyance. _Hey – this is MY moment, Lu!_

"But the weight of the city caused the bridges to collapse, and it all sank to the bottom." Tidus was now listening to Lulu attentively. Shrugging it off, Wakka took the opportunity to declare his love for Yevon.

"Right! It's a good lesson." He confirmed, nodding.

"A lesson?" Probed Tidus. "Yeah. Why build a city over a river, ya?"

"Uh . . . well it would be convenient, with all that water there." Tidus reasoned, leaning back against the edge of the shoopuf carriage.

Wakka shook his head sadly. "Nope, that's not why," Tidus raised an eyebrow questioningly. "They just wanted to prove they could defy the laws of nature!" He elaborated.

Stifling a moan, Tidus instead offered, "I'm not so sure about that."

Wakka attempted to dissuade Tidus' doubts by proclaiming knowledgeably, "Yevon has taught us: when humans have power, they seek to use it. If they don't stop them, they go too far, ya?" He then stretched, bringing his hands up to the back of his head, and elbowing Lulu in the head in the process. "Eh, sorry about that, Lu!" Lulu raised her eyebrows but said nothing, rubbing her neck instead.

Tidus, however, stubbornly pursued the subject. "But don't you use machina too? Like the stadium and stuff!"

"Yevon, it decides which machina we may use, and which we may not." Lulu clarified.

"So what kind of machina 'may we not use?'" Tidus asked insolently, shifting in his seat. Scowling darkly, Wakka replied.

"Remember operation Mi'ihen?" _That _kind." Crossing his arms, he muttered something about lousy Al Bhad and their lousy machina deathtraps. _Whoa! _Tidus thought. _He actually had an answer to that!_

"Or," Added Lulu in a detached manner, "War will rage again.

"War?" Tidus queried.

"More than a thousand years ago, mankind waged war using machina to kill." Explained Yuna.

"They kept building more and more powerful machina." Wakka added.

For Tidus' sake, Lulu went into a litlle more detail: "They made weapons so powerful, it was thought they could destroy the entire world."

"The people feared that Spira would be destroyed." Yuna augmented.

Wakka's voice rose angrily. "But the war did not stop!" Tidus, enthralled, bade them continue the story.

"Sin came," Yuna intoned sadly, "and it destroyed the cities and their machina."

"The war ended . . . and our reward was Sin." Concluded Lulu.

"So, Sin's our punishment for letting things get out of hand, eh?" Wakka admonished with an easy smile. Tidus, however, was not placated.

"Man, that's rough . . . !" He commented, indignant and sympathetic.

"Yeah, it is. " Admitted Wakka.

As an afterthought, Tidus added, "But it's not like the machina are bad!", thinking of the multitude of machina he had used daily back in Zanarkand.

"Only as bad as their users." Lulu intoned gravely.

"It's because of people like the Al Bhed screwing everything up!" Wakka expressed, his hands clenched into tight fists beside him. The cabin began to tremor.

The Hypello guiding the Shoopuf cried out aloud. "Whatsh could thatsh be?"

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Thanks for reading! 'Til next time! 


	5. Rescue

Hi! Sorry I've been a while, I had a load of assignments piled on all at once – I hope to be updating more regularly now.

Chapter 5 – Rescue

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Using the grips on her padded gloves, Rikku silently maneuvered her way up the shoopuf and onto the cabin. Tentatively, she peeked over the top with her 'scope. There were six visible heads poking up above the edge. Only two, however, were female.

_Well, that narrows it down!_ Rikku thought enthusiastically, figuring that the slender dark-haired teenager was her cousin. Laughing, the subject of her attentions turned around, a genuine smile etched across her face. _Wow, she's so beautiful! So grown up . . . _The last time Rikku and Yuna had met, Rikku had been three. Even then little Yuna had played the polite, calm mediator.

Lowering the 'scope, Rikku cautiously inched over to the side of the box occupied by her cousin and a fierce-looking Ronso. The cabin quaked, rocking on its supports – _Brother, don't do that! You'll give the game away! _- and everyone stood up nervously, including Yuna.

Rikku's guess as to her identity was confirmed when she took in the delicately embroidered summoners robe and slender staff. "Sit down!" Ordered a stern'looking man in a heavy red coat. Rikku tensed and prepared to leap.

The impact as Rikku and her captive summoner hit the water drove the air out of their lungs. Yuna flailed, eyes wide with horror, as the shock from the sudden change from cool air to sub-zero water took hold. After a brief struggle, the girl went limp in Rikku's arms, exhaling as she lost consciousness.

"Tysh ed!" Rikku shouted into her oxygen tube, panicking. _Stupid! I should have anticipated this! _Taking a deep breath, she removed her mouthpiece and inserted it into Yuna's mouth, which easier than she had expected, as Yuna's jaw had gone slack. Struggling to get to the Extractor before her breath gave out , Rikku swam hard, slowed by Yuna's weight.

Seemingly hours later, they reached the hulking contraption. Rikku slammed her fist into the switch that would drain the water from the entrance cell, and gasped in the air that was now filling the watertight holding cell, hunched over.

Carefully she laid her prisoner onto the floor, and crouched down beside her, awaiting her return to consciousness. "Hey Yunie! It's me, your cousin Rikku, d'you remember me?" Rikku murmured, taking her hand. Sighing she continued to talk to the motionless figure laid out on the floor. "I s'pose not, it's kinda been a while, hey? Anyway, you're safe with me! We'll be taking you to Home, and the you'll abandon your pilgrimage and live with us, and you'll be safe, and it'll all be ok!"

THWACK! The holding cell shuddered under the assault. Running into the control room, Rikku checked the tinted screen to find the cause of this unexpected turbulence.

_Hey! It's Tidus! I'm so glad he's ALIVE! _Rikku rejoiced silently, recognizing the blitzer she and her salvage crew had rescued from the ruins of the Baaji Temple.

Biting her lip worriedly, Rikku watched as one of the guardians she'd seen on the shoopuf – a flame-haired islander armed with a blitzball – swam into view to take a swipe at the Extractor. _So that would make Tidus a guardian?! Tysh!_

"BROTHER!" She screeched. Brother came running into the room. "What did you do, Rikku?! The whole thing's shaking like a water flan!" Squinting crossly at him, Rikku marched her brother over to the viewing screen and pointed out their predicament. ". . . oh." Brother said matter of factly.

Spinning to face Rikku, he then asked, in an annoyingly imperious fashion, "So what are you going to do about it?" Rikku stood on her toes and gave him the most intimidating glare she could muster. Brother continued to grin arrogantly at her. "URGH!" She snarled in exasperation, placing her heels back on the flooring.

Stomping towards the controls, she switched on auto-pilot, and then battle mode. "Come on!" Rikku cried, waving an extravagant hand. "We got some repairs and missile equipping to take care of!"

Sitting forward, Rikku tapped furiously at the controls, as Brother tried vainly to fend off the endless damage that the engines were receiving. The Mana Beam was almost ready to launch yet another devastating attack! "You guardians are SO gone!"Rikku chirped happily, disregarding the fact that there was no one actually in close enough proximity to hear her.

Tidus went into Overdrive and began his attack. Rikku's finger hovered above the switch that would launch the Mana Beam. 10 . . . 9 . . . 8 . . .

Suddenly, the Mana Beam's power gauge shut off. _Huh? What's going on? Did they cast curse or something?_ Rikku fretted. The answer was soon provided when the lights and viewing screen also blanked out._ Oh cred . . . _There was a sound of shattering glass, and then silence.

"Brother . . . ?" Rikku called quietly, afraid to disturb whatever force was holding the remainder of the Extractor together. Carefully, she stepped into the lobby. She removed the seal that held the door to the engine rooms. The door opened with such force that Rikku was almost thrown off her feet. Water swept in! Slamming the door shut, Rikku slid to the ground, pitting her weight against the water pressure as she resealed the air-tight doors.

_CRED! The engine room's broken off! BROTHER!!!!! Oh Fayths, is he ok?Maybe he made it out, before . . . ?_". . . Brother." Rikku whispered desolately, not expecting an answer. Instead, she was greeted by an ominous creak from the ceiling.

"Oh _shit_!" Rikku swore, horrified, glancing up at the reinforced steel walls, which looked as though they were about to buckle. She cast about wildly, looking without hope for the emergency kit. Or the first aid kit. Or maybe a lifejacket would be good.

The emergency exit was cut off – it required power to open the door, and even the backup system had busted when Tidus had delivered the final blow. _Arrrgh . . . I can't believe this! Brother designed this pile of crap himself – he told me he'd done all the necessary safety precautions – that we'd be invincible – dammit, he said it'd be SAFE!!! _

The tortured iron's creaking and moaning had ceased. "Uh oh . . ." Rikku said softly, as the first screw surrendered to the enormous pressure. It hit the ground with a sound so fatally final that Rikku screamed.

Tidus and Wakka swam desperately towards the surface, splitting the task of carrying Yuna between them. _Seamless teamwork!_ Tidus thought with a triumphant grin. _Spira's never seen the threat that could stop us now!_

They continued to push up, and suddenly their heads exploded into the air. "BOOYA!" Wakka shouted, doing a victory punch whilst trying to tread water and keep Yuna afloat. He looked like an idiot. "YEAH!" Tidus shouted exuberantly. Yuna sputtered to life as the fresh air shook off her previous inanimate state.

Victorious, the three swam back over to their comrades, who were leaning anxiously over the side. They slowed the pace a little, though, 'cause Yuna wasn't that great a swimmer.

Without warning, the water back where they had surfaced arced up in a great mushroom cloud. The machina had finally imploded.

Rikku screamed as she was bombarded with flying shards of metal. Water rushed in and jagged chunks of scrap metal dragged her down still deeper, now so deep she'd never reach the surface. Terrified of being incased in the claustrophobic metal coffin that was threatening to engulf her, Rikku struggled to escape, and when freed swam furiously towards the sky.

_The sky . . . can I . . . can I reach? _Her tired mind queried, before relenting to the black wave of exhaustion that swept over her.

Somewhere close to the west bank of the Moonflow, a bedraggled and waterlogged Rikku, seemingly an infinitesimal speck against the vast land, rose unsteadily to its feet with a groan. Unable to hold herself up, she fell back into the soft, muddy sand. And a pool of blood, which she failed to notice.

Feebly, Rikku dug her nails into the mushy ground, and with much effort, pulled herself weakly along in an army-crawl of a kind. After an hour had passed, she had managed to drag herself the 100m to shore.

_I'm alive?! _She thought disbelievingly. _YES!!!!_ Now was the time for a victory dance, but there was no strength left in her. She collapsed on the sandy bank.

As Rikku lay there a while, the adrenaline rush triggered by the need to survive faded, and she became aware of a sharp, stabbing pain in her shoulder. Lifting her head to check it out, an agonizing shock of pain rippled through her, and she retched, vomiting into the sand. Bracing herself, she tried again, ignoring the cloudy haze that fogged her vision.

_NO WAY! _Her mind screamed in protest as she took in the long, wickedly sharp metal shard that pierced her flesh all the way through, right below her left shoulder blade.

Fighting off the urge to scream, Rikku collapsed back onto the sand, nauseous. _How . . . how did I miss THAT?! _She puzzled, disinterestedly. _I've come this far, fought my way out of my iron tomb and watery grave, and I'm gonna die now because I got a metal SPLINTER!!! No way. _She thought furiously.

Gritting her teeth, Rikku forced herself into a sitting position, swaying slightly, with teeth clenched, eyes shut tight and face contorted with pain. When the initial shock of pain had worn off, she opened her eyes and searched with a shaky hand for a healing item of any kind. All had fallen out except one vial.

Bringing it up to her face, she examined the small glass bottle carefully, trying to figure out what it contained with her fogged mind. _Yes! Now what were the chances?! _"An X-Potion! YES!!!" She shouted, elated.

Carefully, she wrapped the fingers of her left hand around the end of the metal spear protruding from her shoulder. Steadying her herself with her right hand, she ripped it out. Overcome with pain, Rikku fell back into the ooze, crying quietly.

Feeling around blindly for the miraculous potion, she enclosed it with her fist and brought it to rest on her stomach. Rikku pulled the cork out, and poured the potion into the wound. There was the sound of sizzling flesh, a holy light, and the wound slowly closed up, leaving no trace of its existence but a small, circular scar.

Her mind regained most of its former clarity, and gladly she drank the last dregs of the potion that had saved her life.

Feeling like herself again, Rikku jumped up and punched the air, yelling delightedly. "Eat that, Yevonite bastards!" She crowed. "We Al Bhed don't kill easily!" Walking over to a shady place close to the shore, Rikku sat. Her body was wracked with a jaw-breaking yawn, and she lay down beneath a tree and exhaustion from her ordeal overtook her.

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Ok, so I'm pretty much sticking to the story line . . . for now. Please review! 


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